New Jersey Transit and P.G.A. Try to Make Ride to Long Walk Unspoiled

By TAMMY LA GORCE

Published: August 7, 2005

UNLESS you've been holed up in a (sand) bunker for the past month, you know that the 87th P.G.A. Championship is coming to Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield this week. Practice rounds start Monday, and the first ''thwok!'' that matters will come Thursday morning when the first round begins.

For the 35,000 spectators expected each day, trains, buses and security will be as much on their minds as Tiger Woods, the Lower Course's particularly devilish rough and the word ''legendary.'' Most fans are expected to arrive via the Summit train station through an arrangement between the Professional Golfers' Association and New Jersey Transit. Many of those fans will be coming from lands far more exotic than Parsippany or Mahwah, with ticket-holders coming from some 20 countries and all 50 states.

''Between New Jersey and Manhattan, we've booked tons of hotel rooms -- too many to keep track of,'' said the tournament's director, Andy Bush, who moved to Summit to prepare for the tournament in October 2003. ''We have 1,000 credentialed media doing telecasts. There are 200 employees here from the P.G.A. alone. Some people are commuting more than 120 miles each day to come.''

Oh, yes -- commuting. New Jersey Transit says that it will set an additional 261 trains in the tracks this week to bring fans to the tees on time. New Jersey Transit will run 37 extra trains each weekday and 38 more on Saturday and Saturday. Most riders can transfer to Summit-bound trains at the Secaucus Junction station.

The 200,000 fans expected this week have the option of buying a three- or four-day New Jersey Transit rail pass. Trains on the Morris & Essex lines will run to Summit station every 15 minutes, with shuttle buses stationed outside to carry passengers the additional mile and a half to Baltusrol.

For New Jersey golfers, securing the P.G.A. Championship on home turf -- Baltusrol's special blend of bluegrass/rye grass -- feels a bit like a successful bid to play host to the Olympics.

''New Jersey is a whole lot different than Kohler, Wis.,'' said Mr. Bush, referring to the site of last year's P.G.A. Championship. ''For one thing, we needed to secure 10,000 paved parking spaces. That's nearly impossible in New Jersey, and that was the minimum.''

With that many spaces within walking distance of Baltusrol out of the question -- ''These towns are congested on a daily basis, and we understand that,'' Mr. Bush said -- the P.G.A. turned to the Meadowlands. Shuttle buses will run from general parking there.

Closer to the course, planning has been no less thorough. Mr. Bush, recognizing that ''we have to acknowledge where we are, and understandable concerns about terrorism,'' said security measures at Baltusrol would include bag checks, the banning of oversize packages and round-the-clock patrols by state police officers and members of the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management.

New Jersey Transit's security plans for Baltusrol-bound trains include doubling of the number of police officers designated for regular routes and tripling the number of canine units, said Dan Stessel, a New Jersey Transit spokesman.

Wooing local residents has also been part of the plan. ''We've donated countless tickets to every municipality affected,'' including Westfield, Mountainside, Millburn and Short Hills, Mr. Bush said. ''We've also helped them raise money for community projects. We've been involved with a total of 53 New Jersey-area nonprofits. The county and the towns don't have a lot to complain about.''

The more standard reaction to the building hoopla, actually, has been a dusting off of the regional welcome mat.

On June 3, Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey was on hand at the opening of ''A History of the Season's Final Major,'' a P.G.A. Championship exhibition at the New Jersey Center for Visual Arts in Summit (highlights include Jack Nicklaus's putter from his 1980 championship victory at Baltusrol and a straw hat worn by Sam Snead). And Mayor Sy Mullman of Springfield, who accepted a $35,000 donation from the P.G.A. for the beautification of Roesner Park in April, will help coordinate the town park's use as a ''general public depot'' throughout championship week.

Mr. Bush, in fact, has found the community so welcoming that he says he will hate to leave. ''When I first found out I was moving to New Jersey, I was like, 'Oh, man,''' he said. ''But it's been completely different than I thought. It's so peaceful here. You've got the mountains. You've got the city. You've got great restaurants. I wouldn't mind staying.''

For information on transportation to the tournament, go to www.njtransit.com or call (800)772-2222. For information about the tournament, go to www.pga2005.com.